I have a new delicious recipe to share with you, courtesy of my friend Olivia. Can I just say how happy I am that Olivia is guest posting regularly on my blog? Her recipes are just so delicious, and her pictures are gorgeous, and I love being able to share her content with you all

In case you missed it, make sure to check out Olivia’s first post on my blog, How to Make Sushi. Olivia is currently studying to become a Registered Holistic Nutritional Consultant as well as majoring in communications. She is passionate about promoting and living an abundant plant-based lifestyle for the health of people, animals and the planet. You can find her on Instagram and YouTube AND on her new blog, Liv’s Healthy Life.

Ahh granola. So sweet. So crunchy. So… healthy? Sadly, most store-bought granola isn’t that great for you. It usually has quite a bit of oil and preservatives in it. The good news is, making your own granola is crazy simple. I decided to try making an oil-free recipe to make it even healthier, and this is what I came up with! Make sure to bake it long enough that it gets crunchy.

Preheat your oven to 320 degrees F. Mix oats and nuts in a bowl. Then add the water, maple syrup and cinnamon and stir well to combine. Spread it out on a parchment paper-lined baking tray. Put it in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes take it out and stir it (making sure to break up any large chunks) and put it back in for 10 minutes. Stir again after 10 minutes and put it back in for 5 more minutes. After 25 minutes it should be crispy. If not, put it back in for a few more minutes. Feel free to add dried fruit or any other ingredients you like when it comes out. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 1 week.

PARFAIT DIRECTIONS

One of my favourite ways to eat granola is in a smoothie parfait. Simply layer your favourite smoothie with fruit and granola (I,Kate, love serving them in my coconut bowls). Layer it however you like, and make sure to share a photo on instagram and hashtag #livshealthylife so I can see your creations!

I have a super delicious recipe to share with you today! A few months ago, I featured my friend Anik Gallant on my interview series, My Happy Healthy Life. Today Anik is sharing an amazing Chocolate Chia Zucchini Bread recipe with us.

I LOVE summer!!!
Hot sunny beach days, swimming, BBQs with friends, camping, late night stargazing…
but…. my favorite summer thing to do is harvesting and munching on fresh, delicious, organic veggies from my own garden!!
I’ve been picking, grating and baking zucchini-everything this past week. Making muffins and breads and fritters… and then finally I made enough zucchini breads to narrow it down to this delectable hearty chocolaty zucchini bread!!
Please know that I had very strict criterias for this bread. It needed to be delicious, dense, moist, chocolaty, not too sweet, freezable, kid-friendly and most of all awesome enough to replicate over and over again until the end of zucchini season!
Here it is.

First off I want to say thank you so much for all of the kind words and positive feedback for my new eBook! I had so much fun creating it, and I’m so happy to hear that so many of you are enjoying it If you haven’t already, you can grab your copy here. I also created a new Instagram account just for the eBook! You can check it out here

Okay I have a really fun post for you all today! I am so happy to have the girls from Laughing In Flowers on the blog. Robin and Tamara, a.k.a. the Flower Gals, are two beautiful bloggers from Halifax, whom I was lucky enough to meet recently. Their’s is seriously one of my favourite blogs, and you need to make sure to check it out!

Today Robin and Tamara are talking to us about coconut milk kefir! So cool and so tasty

Enjoy!

The Flower Gals <3

Hello Roadies!

A few months ago we stumbled across coconut milk kefir at Pete’s Frootique in downtown Halifax, and after experiencing so many positive side effects from consuming it daily, we knew we needed to track down Leona Barnes (the lady responsible for the amazing product) and have a chat.

Leona glows, not just with passion for her product but also with knowledge and wisdom about health and the root cause of illness, and when we approached Kate about a post swap, we knew it was Leona’s information that we needed to share.

THE ROOT CAUSE OF ILLNESS

“A medical doctor recently said a problem of the future will be fungus, but I think it is a problem now. Fungus infections have become a very common problem in North American and many are plagued by it.” – Leona Barnes

One of the most feared fungal infections is Candida Albicans, a fungal infection normally confined to the skin and mucous membranes. However, with the decrease in immune function (because of preservatives, sugar alternatives, environmental toxins, etc etc) Candida is now able to invade the blood steam and expel powerful poisons against the nervous system causing so many adverse health effects.

Some of these effects include:

+ Fatigue

+ Lethargy

+ Increased Body Hair

+ Gas

+ Itching

+ Headaches

+ Depression

+ Memory Loss

However, the symptoms extend so much further and interestingly, according to Leona’s research, fifty percent of people in mental health institutions suffer acutely from Candida Albicans!

“As someone who personally struggles with anxiety, I can personally attest to the power Leona’s kefir has had on my condition. As a preventative measure I take one “shot” of the kefir every morning but also take an extra “shot” if I am having difficulty sleeping at night. If I forget to take it for a few days, I notice I am more on-edge and hyper aware of everything. As an added bonus, the kefir has improved my digestion tremendously!” – Robin Scott

PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

If we know this fungus is doing so much damage, what can we do to stop it?

This is where Leona’s amazing product comes in! Leona’s kefir is an easy and budget friendly way of getting the necessary daily dose of probiotics! At only $14.99 the kefir will last you up to an entire month! This is a QUARTER of the price of quality probiotic capsules.

If you’re in Halifax, be sure to pick up a jar of Leona’s delicious coconut milk kefir

Kefir’s friendly lactobacillus and beneficial yeast set up colonies that reside in the intestines and assist in the digestion of proteins, minerals, fats and carbohydrates.

In addition to daily health maintenance for everyone, kefir is great for children who eat a lot of sugar and junk food and is excellent nourishment for the elderly who require extra immune support. It is wonderful for women who are pregnant or nursing as it nourishes their own bodies and provides the growing baby with a friendly flora for building a healthy immune system.

Kefir has also helped many people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis and cancer because it effectively creates an alkaline environment within the body making it impossible for disease-causing pathogens to survive.

“In all my years of studies, I have never found something more beneficial to my clients than coconut milk kefir.” – Leona Barnes

The beauty of this product is that is comes with a small “shot” glass equivalent to your daily requirement of daily probiotics. For general health maintenance, one shot per day is all you need. If you have any health concerns and want to discuss a unique dosage, Leona is always available by e-mail at www.placeofwellness@gmail.com.

In addition, you can also bake with it! Attached is a recipe by Leona herself that uses coconut kefir to create delicious dairy and sugar free spelt tea biscuits. We encourage you to give them a try. They go perfect with soup or warm with a small bit of honey spread on top.

We hope this post as encouraged you to learn more about fungal infections and how they affect your health. Head on over to your nearest store to purchase your first bottle of coconut kefir. We promise you won’t be disappointed!

Did you know about fungal infections or kefir prior to this post? Let us know any tips or tricks you have for keeping fungus at bay.

So I wrote recently about the Vitamix I won through a contest put on by Jenny Sansouci over at Healthy Crush. I am in love with it! Honestly, I love my Nutribullet too, but the Vita just takes things to a whole new level!

To enter the contest, you needed to take a photo of your favourite herb or spice, and I chose curry powder (because, well, it’s my favourite). But I wanted to take things up a notch, so I decided to make a recipe to go with it.

I make hummus all the time, and I love it, but I also love variety. I had a bag of frozen peas in the freezer, so I thought I’d sub those for the chick peas and see what happened.

Green Pea Hummus

1 cups peas (thawed if using frozen)

2 tbsp tahini (peanut butter or almond butter work as well)

Juice from ½ lemon

Splash of oil (I use olive or hemp)

Splash of water

Pinch of salt and pepper

Curry powder to taste (optional- but not really. It’s amazing).

Showing off my creation (and my nail polish)

As you can see, I don’t use exact measurements, but that is the beauty of hummus- anything goes! If you have no plans to be in public, add some garlic. If you want to amp up the nutrients, add spinach. Do what feels right. I’m not sure how it would taste in the green pea version, but for regular hummus, I love adding roasted beets!